


Other Ways of Speaking

by lachlanrose



Category: X-Men (Movies), X-Men (Movieverse), X-Men - All Media Types
Genre: Drama, F/M, Rogan, Underage Sex, adult, shipper
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-07-02
Updated: 2013-07-02
Packaged: 2017-12-16 20:54:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,550
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/866510
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lachlanrose/pseuds/lachlanrose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Two months after hooking up in Laughlin City, Logan and Marie find their peace disturbed when a couple of strangers come knocking.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Simple Pleasures

**Author's Note:**

> **Disclaimer:** Not mine. But I really like that Logan one.
> 
> **Feedback:** Yes, please. The good. The bad. The ugly, welcome... ;)
> 
> **Author's Notes:** A word of warning in this one, folks. I was curious how a relationship between Logan and a younger Marie (17) would play out, especially if that relationship was established before they found their way to Westchester. This fic explores what's 'too young' and why different people put that line in different places. If that idea squicks you, don't say I didn't warn ya. Heh. Thanks to the usual suspects for the beta and TOFOG for the title.

* * *

**Simple Pleasures**

 

**[Saturday 11:47 p.m. Yellowknife, Canada]**

"I just dunno, Marie."

Fuck that. He did know. He did know and he didn't like it. He didn't like that the two strangers who'd caught up with them tonight after the fights knew about what happened in that bar in Laughlin City a couple of months back, and he really didn't like that they knew Marie was a mutant too. They knew fuck-all too much for two people who were obviously inexperienced at making attempted pick-ups. They were too green to be in the field and far too inexperienced to intimidate the likes of him. He didn't know what kind of show this Xavier guy was running, but so far, Logan wasn't impressed.

Marie stopped folding the clothes they'd toted back from the coin laundry earlier and looked up at Logan. They slept in the camper most nights, but when Logan was fighting, they usually got a room whenever they were going to be in the same place for a few days. This time was no exception. It wasn't much—just a bed, a table, a TV, and a small bathroom—but it beat the cramped quarters of the camper. It wasn't that they didn't like the intimacy that closeness fostered, but they were both loners by nature and sometimes the extra space was nice. For that matter, so were indulgently long hot showers and king-sized beds.

She frowned a little, fidgeting uneasily. "You think maybe they aren't who they say they are?" Marie had only been with Logan two months and still hadn't learned to read all his moods, but she knew he wasn't happy about the strangers who'd come knocking on their door tonight. She twisted the shirt she held in her fingers nervously. "You think maybe they're the-"

From his position stretched out on the bed, Logan chuckled. "Nah, I don't think that, baby. They're not military and God knows, nobody in their right mind'd make up the kinda story they told us tonight." He scowled a little. "It's just they're so damn—"

"Goody-goody?" She offered, giving him a bit of a wry smile.

"Heh. Yeah, all that savin' the world crap? I just dunno if I buy inta that." He paused, taking a long pull from his beer. "Besides, we're doin' just fine on our own." That was true. Mostly. He'd be happier when the fighting circuit was done for the season and they could hole up in his cabin for the winter. He liked having her all to himself. He liked taking care of her. There had been something instinctual, something primal that drew him to her right from the beginning. He wouldn't have kept her with him otherwise. It wasn't as if he was trying to monopolize every moment of her time, but he felt strongly that right now they needed to have time by themselves to learn about each other without the rest of the world intruding. It wasn't such an odd thing, really. A lot of cultures did that.

For as deep as the connection between them was, it was also new and fragile. While their friendship and affection had grown and deepened considerably in the last two months, they were only just now beginning to explore the more carnal side of that connection, and he didn't want a couple of geeks in black leather fucking it all up—telling her he was no good, telling him she was too young. Hell, he knew all that shit already. For that matter, so did she. If it didn't bother either of them, who was anyone else to complain?

Logan sniffed, and fixed her with an intense stare. "You thinkin' of takin' 'em up on their offer?" She smelled nervous and a little scared and he didn't like that, not one damn bit. And he was deathly afraid she was going to tell him she wanted to leave him. He didn't have much that was good in his life and losing what little he had terrified him. He knew he'd never lose her to another man, but who could compete with what Xavier was offering? "'Cause I ain't forcin' you stay," he growled defensively, almost afraid to believe she'd choose staying with him over the life they both knew she could have if she left.

Marie was quiet a long time. "I love being with you, Logan. I do." She might not know all his moods, but she knew this one well enough. She tossed the shirt back on the pile of clean laundry and came to sit on the bed by his feet. She stroked her hand up and down his calf, smiling at the solid strength in the body hidden under all that denim and flannel. "You know I do, sugar." She stroked a little harder, wanting him to feel the physical connection along with the emotional one in her words. "It's just..." Marie sighed wistfully. "It's just... I could finish school there. That's something I want. And that place they talked about sounds good, like maybe a place I could get to do that," she said softly. "But I don't want to go without you, so if you say no, we'll stay. Ok?"

Her deference soothed him, made him feel a little more in control of the situation and a little less afraid she'd up and leave him. "It ain't that easy, Marie." He watched her hand moving up and down his calf. "This thing between us, they ain't gonna like it, baby. You're too young." He grunted. "I don't give a fuck what they think about me, but they ain't gonna go easy on you either. Bein' seventeen, bein' with someone like me—you're gonna catch a lot of shit for that... and if we decide to do this, I sure as hell ain't gonna stop sharin' a bed with you 'cause someone else don't like it."

"Good to know, because the only bed I want is the one you're in." Her smile grew more pensive. "But even if you agreed to go, even then, I wouldn't go unless we could be there... you know... _together_."

Logan chuckled. "Don't matter. That ain't gonna stop the talk, baby."

She grinned at him. "They don't know what we're like, sugar." They didn't know how good he was to her or how safe he made her feel or that they hadn't had sex yet. Marie blushed prettily. In truth, they hadn't even come close. They shared a strange sort of intimacy that was definitely sexual, almost shockingly so at times. That was only to be expected in the close quarters they lived in, but for as open as they were with each other, they were only just now starting to explore the more physical side of their relationship. Her blush intensified. "We haven't even made love yet."

"We will." There was no denying the surety in his words, and the heat in his eyes seemed to suck all the air out of the room. Logan moved his leg over a little so his booted foot touched her thigh. "You sure all this ain't 'bout what the rest of what One Eye hadta say? That part 'bout learnin' to control your 'gifts'?"

Marie giggled at the nickname, but quickly grew serious once more. "Maybe a little. As nice as having my own electrified fence is, it'd be nice to be able to turn it off once in a while."

She smelled sad. "Keeps you safe," he offered. Hands down, that was his favorite thing about her mutation. Absolutely. It had kept her safe for the eight months she'd been on the road before they hooked up. Plus, it made her more than a little dangerous and he liked that too. He needed a strong mate. An equal. Someone who chose to be with him because she wanted to, not because she couldn't go it alone. Equally yoked. Well, that was certainly true. They each carried death in their hands.

Logan sniffed again. The scent of her sadness had intensified. Well, maybe 'safe' wasn't exactly the right word to use in conjunction with her mutation. She'd had to use her gifts more than once in those eight months on the road and he knew that wasn't pleasant for her. The last time had been with some overgrown hairball just before she'd hooked up with him in Laughlin City. From what Marie had told him, the hairball had messed her up pretty good before she finally took him down. That run-in had left her with the two white streaks she now had in her hair and a healing factor that rivaled his own—another reason he didn't want her anywhere near that school. If they figured out what her skin could _really_ do... well, he already had a reminder of what the rest of the world thought healing factors were good for. She'd gotten a healthy dose of his mutation too before they knew she'd somehow retained that regenerative ability, or perhaps it had been the combination of absorbing two super-healers almost completely that had made it permanent. They'd probably never know the answer. Whatever the reason, it was enough to give them both pause when it came to sharing that information with outsiders.

"It keeps me from touching your skin, Logan." She answered quietly.

Logan covered her gloved hand with his. "I won't lie to you, Marie. Touchin' you like that'd be real nice." His voice dropped, becoming lower, huskier. "But it don't make a damn bit of difference on my end, darlin'. I don't needta touch ya skin to skin to make you feel good." The solid confidence in his voice was unwavering and he grinned as Marie blushed. Logan paused, waiting for her to meet his eyes. "And I sure as hell don't need it for you to make me feel good." Case in point, he was already so hard it hurt and all she'd done was rub his leg. He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. "Marie, if you wanna go, we can go, but don't feel you gotta just because of the touchin' thing, ok?"

"It's not just that." Marie nodded. "I was thinking maybe we should go for you too. Maybe they might be able to help you find something about your past. I know... I know you're skeptical, sugar." She ignored his snort of disgust. "But maybe it might be worth giving it a shot."

He sighed heavily. "I been lookin' for fifteen years, Marie. Fifteen _years_ —with nothin' to show for it and suddenly some guy I've never even heard of not only wantsta help me for nothin', but he's supposedta have all the answers? Not fuckin' likely." He grinned at her. "Besides, if he did have 'em, he'd know better than to send those two rejects from the Matrix into the field."

"Logan," Marie chided. "I thought 'Ro was nice."

His eyes glittered. "Yeah? Whatdya think of the black leather Boy Scout?"

"I think you don't like him because you caught him checking me out," she teased.

"Heh. Can't fault the man for that, darlin'." He grinned. "You gotta nice rack."

"Logan!"

"Well, you do," he responded with his usual matter-of-factness. "But him lookin' atcha? That ain't what rubbed me wrong." Hell, if he got pissed off every time a man looked at Marie, he'd never smile again. He was secure enough in the strength of their bond that he didn't worry she'd stray. In truth, she'd have to look damn hard to find another man as strong as he was and he understood it was that power that drew her to him; that and his gruff tenderness. That girl had split his heart wide open. He was a good mate and he knew it. Strong. Cunning. Virile. Good in a fight. Knew his way around a woman. She could do worse. "It ain't that, baby. It's-"

"You know what I think?"

"What?"

"I think it's because y'all are too alike. He couldn't back you down. You couldn't back him down." Neither of them had raised their voices, but the conversation had been far from pleasant.

"Yeah, well... maybe." He took another long pull from the bottle. "But I ain't the one knockin' on his motel room and tellin' him how he should live his fuckin' life."

"Well, there is that," she teased. "Seriously, though, what if this Xavier guy could help us? What if we gave it a shot and I got my diploma and maybe some help with my control and what if he dug up a lead or two for you? What do we have to lose?"

"Besides our freedom?"

"It's not a prison, it's a school. If it sucks we can bail and if not..."

"If not, what then?" He was suddenly deadly serious. "Marie, all I got in the world is takin' care of you," he admitted quietly.

Instantly, Marie knew why this whole idea scared him so much. This was his world, his place. He was comfortable here and while she wasn't totally dependent on him for everything, she knew he took pride in protecting her and providing for her. He liked earning the money for their food and shelter and clothes. She helped too, but he did the lion's share and she knew that without that, he'd not only feel out of place, but useless as well.

He wouldn't look at her now. "If you take that away from me... I just- I can't stay in a place like that livin' off another man's charity."

"So don't." For a second he looked as if she'd slapped him and then his expression became hard and guarded. Marie could see him shutting down on her, could see the walls slamming down. She knew she needed to fix this. Now. She moved quickly, straddling his hips to keep him from immediately getting up and walking out. Marie took his face in her gloved hands and rubbed her thumbs against his cheeks gently. "Hey, hey, look at me," she whispered to him.

He met her soft, dark eyes. His were wary and full of hurt.

"Logan, sugar, I did NOT mean that the way it sounded. I didn't mean don't come. I didn't mean that at all. I meant don't take his charity if you don't want it. I'd never EVER go without you. Not ever." She gave his cheeks one last caress and dropped her hands as he lay back against the pillows. "But I do think going could be good for both of us, you know? And if that place is really as big as Scott says it is, there has to be something you can do to help out." Marie felt him relax under her a little, felt him start to breath a little easier. "Maybe you could teach them some self defense or something." It sounded lame, even to her own ears, but she really wanted to convince him there had to be some way of making it work.

"I ain't teachin' a buncha kids how to fight." His words were decisive, but she could tell he was thinking it over.

Marie's eyes danced. "I wasn't talking about the kids, Logan." She saw the hint of a smile tugging at his mouth. "Come on... you can't tell me the idea of throwing a punch or two at Scott isn't even the tiniest bit tempting?"

"Be hard to limit it to one or two with that dick."

Marie snickered. "See. You are thinking about it."

"Hmph." Hazel eyes snapping, he stared back at her. "I ain't wearin' the leather." He said it like a challenge, daring her to answer him back.

Oh, yes. There was some definite smirking going on now. "Too bad, sugar. I thought the Boy Scout was kinda cute-" Logan's growl cut her off and Marie yelped when he pinched her backside. "Hey!"

Logan chuckled. "Good try, but he ain't your type, baby. He's too tame for you." She was looking pretty pleased with herself until he added, "And he'd letcha run off at the mouth too much."

"Let me? LET me?" She raised her eyebrow at him in a flawless imitation of his trademark gesture. Lord, she adored teasing this man. She wasn't too sure why he let her get away with it, but it was one of her favorite things. 'Logan smiles.' Nothing like them in the world. "And I suppose you don't?"

"Heh. Hell no I don't." He grinned, absently running his palms up and down the tops of her thighs. "You're a powerful girl, Marie. Not just 'cause of what your skin can do, you're powerful in here." He tapped her on the chest between her breasts. "You need a strong man. Someone stronger than you." His teeth flashed playfully. "Someone to keep ya in line."

"Ok, I think about a million feminists just rolled over in their graves."

He snorted. "Let 'em. They've got it ass-backwards anyway."

"Yeah?" Marie always loved hearing his thoughts. For someone who relied so heavily on his instincts, he was a surprisingly deep thinker. And that he wanted to share those thoughts with her always made her feel special, important. Not like a throwaway kid nobody wanted because she was broken. He'd never made her feel broken. Not once.

"Yeah. It ain't macho bullshit, Marie. It's nature. There's a natural order to things. I'm in charge 'cause that's how it's supposedta be, and I'm bigger and stronger 'cause I'm supposedta be that way. It's on me, on my shoulders to be man enough to protect what's mine and to be strong for you when ya need someone to lean on." He squeezed her legs lightly when he sensed she was about to jump in. "Now before you go gettin' all riled up, there's a secret to how this shit works."

"What's that?" It was hard to keep the smile from her face. His expression was so earnest. He'd clearly given this a lot of thought and she wondered how long he'd been waiting for an ok time to bring it up.

"The secret is to be that rock out front bearin' the brunt of the storm, I gotta have a real strong foundation under me. Without that support holdin' me up, the storm'll just roll me around, wearin' me down 'till I'm nothin' but a grain of sand." His teasing bravado from before was gone. He was utterly serious now, speaking right from the heart.

Marie was surprised by his admission and more than a little humbled. Without her, he thought himself nothing but a grain of sand? That was a powerful realization. One that gave her a whole new perspective on the balance of power in their relationship. Marie nodded. "That's how I see you, you know? My rock. Always there. Steady. Solid." She smiled down at him. "And if I didn't trust you to drive this train, I wouldn't be in it, sugar."

"Heh. I like that," both for the amusing analogy, and for the sentiment it expressed.

"Well don't be too smug. Lord knows if I think your driving sucks, I'll tell you."

He chuckled. "See, told ya. One Eye would never be able to handle that mouth."

Marie licked her bottom lip in a way that suddenly had Logan very aware of their respective positions, and she grinned. "So, do you think this train of ours might be heading to Westchester anytime soon?"

"How's tomorrow work for you, darlin'?" The fights were finished. They had plenty of traveling money. He'd have a whole week of driving to get used to the idea of staying at the school for a while. But more importantly, he knew this was something she really wanted to do and he'd never hold her back from that or from her dream of having her degree. That was a part of why she trusted him to drive the train.

"I think tomorrow sounds good." She sighed happily. "I think it sounds really, really good. Thank you," she added softly.

"You bet." As if there'd been any doubt. He'd move heaven and earth if he had to in order to give Marie what she needed.

There was a long stretch of silence while they simply looked at each other. They both seemed to realize at exactly the same moment that Logan's hands had moved from her thighs to her hips and he was no longer touching her absently, but pressing her down against his groin firmly, with purpose. And there was absolutely no mistaking his arousal. A wide, lazy smile touched his mouth as he looked up into her face, locked eyes with her, and slowly dragged her up the length of his erection before pushing her back down again.

Her eyes got very wide. "Oh..."

They'd never done anything like this before. The nature of their intimacy was really quite odd if one thought about it. They'd been naked around each other countless times as the camper didn't exactly lend itself to privacy, and they'd shared the bed right from the very beginning. She knew he wanted her. He made no effort to hide his arousal or the fact he regularly found release lying next to her at night, sometimes with her snuggled right up against his back, cuddling him while he did so. But while she was present for all those things, and even included up to a point, there was a big difference between the passivity of watching and actively pleasuring each other.

Logan's smile widened and he moved her once more. Up, and then slowly down again. This time, his hips rose up under hers, increasing the friction for them both. He was no stranger to women's bodies and he knew what to do to make her feel good. He watched her eyes dilate and heard her soft gasp as her scent changed from nervous and curious to full-blown arousal. It made his mouth water and he could feel a wet spot starting to form at the front of his jeans as his body instinctively readied itself for hers.

He moved her again, enjoying the way her small hands clenched his shoulders tightly as he increased the pressure where they both wanted it. "Feels good, huh, baby." It was not so much a question as an acknowledgement of pleasure.

Marie nodded, looking every bit of her seventeen years and not a day older. Her creamy skin was flushed, partly with arousal and partly with embarrassment. She'd caught her bottom lip in her teeth, unsure of herself, but not wanting to stop. It was new and scary, but she liked the way it felt and she liked knowing she could make him feel good. He was breathing deeper now and his eyes were dark and intense. She'd seen pleasure on his face more than once as he worked to bring himself to release next to her in the camper at night, and she recognized that same look on his face now.

Logan watched the play of emotions across her face. He knew this was new to her. She'd told him she hadn't done much more than hold hands and kiss with her first little boyfriend. While he didn't want to push her, he felt the need to deepen his connection with her on a number of levels before they got to Westchester. Maybe it was a little insecurity on his part, but even the Wolverine's armor had chinks, and at present, the biggest one just happened to be sitting astride his hips smiling shyly at him.

Emotional issues aside, what they were doing also felt incredibly good. Logan was blissfully free of inhibitions and he shamelessly enjoyed the intense physical pleasure her body brought him. Truthfully, he was also taking a great deal of satisfaction from her guileless innocence. She was nothing like the other women he'd been with. She faked nothing with him. She didn't know how. Each blush, each gasp or giggle or smile, they were all real. All of her responses were honest, and at times, wonderfully candid. 'Can you really pee your name in the snow?' 'Is it like that _every_ morning?!' 'Wow, sugar, that looked like it felt really, _really_ good.' 'That's kind of a lot. Does so much come out every time?' 'Come snuggle me up, you smell good and I'm cold.' 'Can I watch you shave?' The list went on and on. He hadn't smiled as much, or been as happy in all the years he could remember.

While she didn't know anything about pleasing a man beyond what she'd read in magazines and seen on TV, she had a natural sensuality he wholeheartedly encouraged, and he very much liked getting to be the man to experience everything with her for the first time. Maybe a part of that had to do with the more animalistic side of his nature, or maybe it had to do with the fact he didn't remember any of his sexual firsts and through her—with her—he got to recapture a bit of his lost self. Logan didn't know and honestly, he didn't really care. All he knew was that being with her felt good, felt right.

He held her hips still, flush against his, knowing her body was telling her to move, but he wanted to make her need so urgent that it would override her inhibitions. She accepted his confinement for the moment, and as he hoped, turned her attention to finding another way to experience what was happening between them. Her hand released his shoulder and slid down his chest to his stomach, but there she stopped the motion and met his eyes, seeking approval.

Logan's large hands continued to keep her still, but he encouraged her with a slow grind of his hips and a smile. "Go ahead, baby. You touch me however you want... Anywhere you want," he added, wanting to be sure she understood his body was hers to explore at her leisure. He didn't think she'd go too far this first time, but it was a lesson he wanted her to learn and learn well. There was no part of him she couldn't or shouldn't touch... and the reverse was also true. He smiled wider and rewarded her with another slow thrust when her hands slid over his chest and arms, feeling the muscles bunched and hard under his clothes. Her hands were everywhere. She touched his face, his neck, his hair. She felt his stomach, giggling a little when she found his bellybutton and caressed the indent with her fingers, all the while watching the play of emotions across his face.

He was a little surprised when she ducked her head, letting her hair hide her face from him as her fingers skated lower. The scent of her embarrassment kicked up a few notches, but her hand didn't hesitate. She stroked his hip first, up and down, first with her fingertips and then with the heel of her palm, slowly moving inward with each pass of her hand until she was just a hair's breadth to the left of where he really wanted her to touch him. She had the rhythm right, although that probably had more do to with the way she watched him in the evenings rather than any inborn knowledge she possessed, but the next pass of her hand didn't bring her any closer. Nor did the one that followed or any of the ones after that. The indirect stimulation was maddening.

"Baby, that's not my-"

"I know." Touching him there was a big jump she wasn't sure she was ready to make just yet. Marie wasn't too sure why sitting astride him, letting his crotch touch hers, albeit through their clothes, was less scary than touching him with her hand, but that's just the way she felt. It didn't make sense, but she felt comfortable enough with him to let him know she wasn't ready for that, and equally comfortable that he wouldn't push her. Still though, she couldn't help but stroke the small wet circle at the front of his jeans with one curious fingertip. His body and its differences had always fascinated her.

With her face still hidden by her hair, Logan settled for watching her touch the evidence of his desire, smiling as the circle got slightly bigger and darker with each pass of her finger. She was very sensual. She withdrew her finger and looked at it curiously before shyly bringing it to her mouth. The inherent sensuality in the simple gesture sent heat spiraling low through his belly. It was unlikely that she'd be able to taste him that way, but that she instinctively wanted to spoke to the kind of lover she would eventually become. Some women never understood that telltale stain of moisture wasn't something he should be ashamed of or embarrassed about or that it was something they should pretend they didn't notice.

Thankfully, Marie had none of that trepidation and seemed to be as curious and uninhibited about her delight in his body as he was about hers. Still, he didn't want to push things too far too fast so he resolved to limit the wandering of his hands, at least for tonight anyway. He was content, for now, to just hold her hips to his and let her explore his body and the rhythms they could find together. Caught up in his thoughts, her soft giggle surprised him.

She lifted her hand from him to tuck her hair behind her ear and when she did, he noticed even though she was smiling, her brow was wrinkled a little. "Sugar, your pants..."

Typical Marie, endearingly candid and ever pragmatic. Logan chuckled, correctly reading the nature of her distressed look. "We'll hit the coin laundry again before we head out, darlin'." He didn't add that if everything went well, she'd probably have a few things of her own that needed to be tossed in along with his jeans.

Aware her penchant for speaking her thoughts aloud didn't necessarily mean she'd switched mental gears, and wanting to move on to something far more intimate than mundane discussions about laundry, Logan put her hands back on his shoulders and once again fit her hips to his. Like before, he held her hips still, but now she wasn't passively letting him do so. He could feel her straining a little against his hold and huffing quietly in frustration. He caressed the hollows of her hipbones with his thumbs, smiling at the way she moved restlessly against him. "Marie, baby? You wanna do a little more now?" He waited until she met his eyes and squeezed her hips for emphasis. "You want me to help you come?"

Her eyes got very wide and she hid her face against his shoulder, but he felt her nod. "Yes." The word was soft and breathy, but full of wonder and more than a little encouragement. "Logan, please..."

His eyes closed briefly against the want in her voice and heat prickled sharply under his arms and at the small of his back. One large hand left her hip and settled heavily on the small of her back, holding her against him as he began to move under her, slow and easy, giving her the friction, the pressure he knew she needed. Anchoring his hands on her hips, he pressed her down harder, grinding up now, not bothering to contain his own grunts of pleasure as they mixed with her soft gasps. She was fighting his hold on her hips now, needing to move. With a thoroughly masculine smile, he let her go and moved his hands to her back, not to guide her movements, but simply because he needed the connection with her that touch afforded him.

"Ohhh..." Their rhythm faltered without his strong hands helping her to move with him, but she slowly took over the cadence he'd started, making it her own, making it what she needed. "Oh, God," she breathed in his ear.

"That's it, baby. Unngh... Fuck, ride me." Whispered words, low and deep and hungry. "You do it just how you need to, baby. Make us feel good—" His words cut off in a growl as she centered herself on him and started a steady grind, beginning to search for release.

"Help me, sugar. I- I don't... I don't-"

"Yes, you do." God, she was so beautiful flushed and straining against him, asking him to help her come. "Just move how your body needs you to." Despite his words, his hands slid back down to her hips. She'd get there eventually, but he wanted this first time, her first orgasm with him this way, to be easy for her, to be sweet and good and everything she needed. "Take your hands off my shoulders and put 'em on the bed, baby," he whispered, taking back a little of the control he'd relinquished, both with his words and with his hands as they settled more solidly on her hips.

She complied, leaning forward to brace her hands on either side of his head. The shift in position brought her body more firmly against his and changed the angle of her hips. She was starting to understand, but it wasn't enough. "Harder... Please... I need-" And then his hands were there, pulling her down into him and he was pushing up against her, not wildly, but strong and steady. Her breath caught on a gasp and he smiled as she froze and then shuddered, keening softly, rhythmically with each rock of her hips as her orgasm rippled outward from her center.

His body was telling him to move, to thrust, but he fought down that urge and held himself still under her while she gasped softly and shook in his arms, working herself against his length a few last times before collapsing against his chest, breathing hard. He could feel her heartbeat as well as hear it, and the soft sounds she was making in her throat made his chest swell with pride.

"Mmmmm..."

"Good one?"

There was a little uncertainty in his voice and Marie understood he wasn't asking if the release had been good as he obviously knew the answer to that question, he was asking if sharing it with him together in this new way had been good. It was sweet that he needed reassurance at times too. Granted, those moments were few and far between; but that he trusted her enough to be so vulnerable with her never ceased to move her.

She sighed contentedly against his chest. "I've never felt this good in my whole life, sugar. Not ever." She pushed up to look at him, warmed by the tenderness, the protectiveness she saw in his eyes. There was heat, too. Heat and want. His body was hard under hers, tense with desire, ready to find his release.

"Never seen you look prettier, baby." He closed his eyes and shuddered before opening them again. "God, you feel good." His hands slid down her thighs and back up to her waist. His jaw clenched as she moved her hips experimentally against his. "Marie-"

Encouraged, she did it again. "Now you, sugar," she crooned in his ear, not quite so shy now in the wake of her own release and its resulting rush of endorphins. "Now you."

He opened his mouth, to tell her what he wasn't sure, but she circled her hips against his and whatever words he was about to utter became a long, low hiss of pleasure.

"Tell me what to do, Logan." Wanting to kiss him, but unable to without a scarf handy, she blew softly in his ear and nuzzled his shoulder. "Tell me how to-"

One large hand left her hips and settled on her nape, protected by the turtleneck she was wearing. "Look at me." Her eyes darted to his, obeying the order without question. His hands came up to pull the silky fall of her hair around them like a dark curtain, blocking out the rest of the world as he started to move under her again. He returned one hand to her neck and the other to her hip as his eyes burned into her. "Don't-" he shuddered, grunting louder now. "Don't look away," he panted through gritted teeth. His eyes, dark and intense, burned into hers while he rocked up under her, harder and faster. "Stay with me." Growling now. "Right with me, baby." He was starting to come apart under her, his urgent rhythm faltering as he drew close to the edge.

They panted together in the dark cocoon of her hair. "Come on, sugar. Come on... Let go." His eyes were wild, his mouth twisted into a blissful snarl of pleasure.

"Unnngh... Fuck!" His fingers tightened on the back of her neck making sure she wouldn't look away. He needed her here, in the moment with him. "Stay with me. Stay—" He pulled her hips down hard and arched up into them, holding himself stock still for one long moment and then he shuddered violently against her as his orgasm roared though him, hard and strong. Wet heat pulsed rhythmically against his skin, slippery and hot under the rough denim.

His eyes never left hers and Marie watched his gaze become unfocused as he passed within, lost in a dark swirl of ecstasy. And she was there, still holding his eyes, when he came back to himself, sweaty and panting.

"Hey there, sugar." Her words were low and quiet. Lover's words. They were lovers now. Glowing faces, sweaty bodies, tangled hair, squeaking bedsprings, heart-slamming _lovers_. It was a heady, staggering revelation. She had a lover. She was someone's lover in return. The world spun crazily. And something had happened between them just now when they held each other's eyes—something that bonded them together far more deeply than their exchange of physical pleasure.

"God _damn_ ," he breathed, hoping his contented smile didn't look half as stupid as it felt because he didn't think he was going to be able to get it off his face any time soon. As a matter of fact, it got a little wider when he saw she was wearing one too. A beautiful, shy, silly smile that looked every bit as good as his felt.

Marie looked away first, lowering her eyes, not submissively, but demurely as she dropped a gentle kiss above his heart and laid her head on his chest, listening as his heart slowed. Logan stroked her sweaty back through her shirt, unable to break even that simple connection with her just yet. Still smiling in satisfaction, he closed his eyes and breathed them in, contented on some basic level by their combined scents. His essence and hers, made more full by their exertions. Sweat and salt, the earthy, musky aroma of sex rising from their heated bodies, and the scent of a couple's satisfaction. It was all he could do to keep from purring out his happiness to her.

"You alright, baby?" He finally asked, still absently stroking her back. She smelled happy, but he wanted to be sure.

"Never better," came her sleepy, amused reply. And then more softly, "I really liked doing that with you."

The damn smile was back. "Me too." It was far from the wildest sex he'd ever had, but it satisfied him on a different level, deeper down. And unlike the transitory physical satisfaction of a quick fuck, this feeling of contentment was bone deep and lasting. "It made me feel real good, Marie. Not- Not just here," he moved his hips, pushing them up at her a little. "Here too," he touched his chest.

Words were always hard for him, especially those kinds of words, but he wanted to deepen their connection on more than just a physical level. "I guess mostly I'm just happy I get to be the man lyin' here with ya." He sighed and pulled her closer. "I'm glad you're my girl, darlin'."

"I'm glad I'm your girl too, sugar." She sighed contentedly and then giggled when her stomach growled.

"Heh." He slid his fingers over her sides, squeezing gently. "Musta been a pretty good one if it worked up an appetite." He gave her an impossibly indecent smile, smugly proclaiming he knew just how good it had been and that he was the reason for it.

Marie giggled harder and swatted his shoulder. "Yeah, I could eat." She rolled off him and scooted up to the headboard, watching him with curious eyes as he looked down at himself and chuckled. She blushed a little when she realized what he was laughing at, but made no move to avert her eyes from the wide, dark stain just below his belt buckle.

Unembarrassed by her perusal, Logan rolled slowly to his feet, enjoying the disheveled sight of her just as much. Her color was still high and she looked very soft. "I got some stuff for us in the truck, but I needta hit the head first." He grabbed a pair of sweats from the pile of clean clothes and headed for the bathroom, still chuckling. He shut the door, but only out of necessity. The bathroom was far too small to maneuver in while the door was open. Marie heard the water in the sink running long enough for it to become warm and a few minutes later, Logan emerged still wearing his t-shirt and flannel, but now barefoot and in sweats. He grabbed his keys off the table and turned to her. "You good?" At Marie's nod, he headed for the door. "Won't be long, darlin'." And with that, he slipped out the door locking it after himself.

Marie shook her head in amusement. Who but Logan would go outside barefoot at this time of year? Granted it was early fall, but it was still cold. She slid from the bed and grabbed her thermals from the laundry pile as she too headed for the bathroom. Inside, she couldn't help but smile at the wet washrag balled up on the edge of the sink. She liked the intimacy of it; of knowing how and why he'd used it and that she was the reason for it. She liked that she needed one too. Her panties felt warm and slippery. She undressed quickly; pulling on the warm, dry clothes before the chill of the air could steal the languid warmth from her body.

Returning to the room, she grabbed the old pillowcase they used as a laundry bag and went back to the bathroom. Stripping Logan's belt from his jeans, she checked the pockets and dug out his lighter before tossing them in the bag along with his socks and her underwear. With a shy smile, she added her jeans too. They were wet on the front where she'd been pressed up against Logan's hips and the crotch was moist. It was a little embarrassing, but kind of nice too, in an 'I'm now part of a couple that does intimate things with each other' kind of way. Rounding up the last of the dirty laundry, Marie tossed the bag on the table and hopped into bed.

A minute later, Logan returned, grinning at her as he came in with a gust of cold air and kicked the door shut with his foot. "Got somethin' for ya, baby." He tossed a package her way.

"Oreos!"

"Heh. Yup. Milk too." Even with her newly acquired healing factor, he knew it was better for her than water or beer.

"Thanks, sugar."

"You bet." He locked the door with his free hand and crossed the room, handing her a quart bottle of milk and setting a six-pack of Molson down on the nightstand for himself before he joined her on the bed. "Milk's all yours, darlin', but the Oreos? Those ya gotta share."

"You like Oreos?" Marie was a little surprised.

He grinned at her. "Hell, darlin', everyone likes Oreos."

She giggled and took one for herself before pushing the package back his way. "Are you a twist off the top and lick the frosting kinda man or what?"

She was twisting the top off her Oreo while she spoke and he nearly bit his tongue in two as he watched her pink tongue come out to lick at the filling while she waited for his answer, staring at him expectantly over the top of her cookie. While her question had been innocent, it fairly begged him to make some kind of sexually charged comeback. He bit back a smile and decided on the less heated of the two responses that had sprung to mind.

While she might have been a little less innocent than she had been before this evening began, he didn't feel he'd taken anything from her so much as he felt they'd shared something incredible with each other, but he also knew that intimacy with a man was something new for her and he didn't want to push things too far too fast. That kind of innuendo could wait until she was ready for it. And to be honest, he was enjoying taking things slowly with Marie. Emotional intimacy was just as new to him as sexual intimacy was to her and just as scary at times. Her naivety wasn't the only thing that stayed his hand. He had his own reasons, and they were just as valid.

Without a single word, he took a cookie from the package. It looked ridiculously small in his large hand. He raised an eyebrow at her, opened his mouth and popped the entire thing inside, smirking at her while he chewed.

Her eyes were wide, but a sexy, full-throated laugh escaped her lips. "Should I be taking notes? 'Cause, you know, I was thinking the whole licking thing had merit, but maybe you're right. Maybe there is something to be said for eating it all up in one bite." And with that, she winked at him, gave her Oreo one last look, smooshed the two sides back together and popped the whole thing in her mouth just the way he had.

Logan choked on his cookie. "Jesus, girl!" He pounded his chest. She was such a rotten little sneak! Her question hadn't been innocent at all. He opened a Molson and took a big swallow, grimacing as the flavors of sweet cookie and bitter beer mixed. He hadn't actually intended to have the beer and the Oreos simultaneously. Still, he couldn't help but chuckle as he looked over at her. Her eyes were dancing and she looked happy—smug, but happy. "Heh. Gonna get you for that, ya know." He winked back at her and took another pull from the beer.

Instead of the snappy comeback he was expecting, her smiled softened as she reached for another Oreo and twisted off the top. "I'm looking forward to it, sugar." Marie sighed happily and lay back down, resting her head on his thigh as she slowly licked the filling from her cookie in a completely non-sexual way and stared thoughtfully at the water-stained ceiling. She sighed again. "You know, I never thought I'd be here—this place in my life I mean. I never pictured myself like this, moving from place to place, following the fight circuit, spending my night in places like the Yellowknife Inn... eating Oreos in bed with a man like you." She smiled for no other reason than because her heart was happy. "And you know what? I wouldn't trade it for the world." Her words were soft and filled with such a quiet peace that they made Logan feel warm all over.

"Yeah?" He wanted to say more, but hearing that had made his chest so tight, that's all he could manage.

"Yeah." She snuggled into him a bit deeper. "I just never thought I'd have this. That I'd have someone like you. You could have anyone. Anyone you wanted. It still seems like a dream that someone like you would even want someone like me. It's hard to believe even when I see myself touching you with my own eyes. Even then it doesn't quite feel real."

"What? Hey. That ain't right. Not at all." He threaded his fingers in her hair, stroking softly. "You. You're everythin'. You're all I want. My life was a cold, dark place before you, baby. You have a beautiful light in you. Warm 'n soft. Bein' with you shines that light in places I didn't even know I had. I'm the lucky one, here." He smiled, surprised she felt that way about him. She thought she was the lucky one? Didn't that beat all.

"Maybe we're both lucky then." She grabbed another cookie and turned it over in her fingers, just looking at it. "We have so much. So much other people don't have. Food, heat, shelter... Oreos..." her teasing voice grew serious once again. "...Love." Marie sighed happily. "Simple pleasures, you know?"

Looking down at the beautiful girl in his bed, Logan couldn't agree more. He had enough money to take care of them, a truck that worked, a comfortable bed, good food, cold beer and a woman he loved to share it all with. He scooted down a little and pulled her close, snuggling her into his side and wrapping his arm around her as he pressed a kiss to her temple and nodded. "Simple pleasures." He sighed contentedly. "Nothin' else in the world like 'em, darlin'. Absolutely nothin'."

* * *

 


	2. Seventeen Summers

**[Sunday 9:24 a.m. Westchester, New York]**

"I just don't know, Scott."

What the fuck? "You've _got_ to be kidding, Jean." He sighed inwardly, already aware that there wasn't even the most remote possibility she was kidding. He and 'Ro had busted their asses on this pick up-even though they hadn't exactly picked anyone up-and he wasn't about to have their hard work undone now. No way. He sighed again, this time aloud. He was hungry, tired, and after eighteen hours in his uniform, ready for a long, hot shower and maybe a nap with a certain sexy redhead if she ever managed to shut up long enough for that to happen.

Jean apparently caught that stray thought because she froze, and for second, 'Dr. Grey's' disapproving look softened and he saw a flash of the 'Jean' she was with him behind closed doors and knew he'd get his nap after all, but not before Dr. Grey said her piece to Cyclops. Figures. Scott poured himself a cup of coffee and sat down tiredly. He and 'Ro had just finished the Blackbird's post-flight checks and put her to bed. He'd hoped to catch that much needed shower and a nap before their official debriefing with Charles, but he'd known this talk was coming since he'd called with the preliminary details from Yellowknife before their flight back. That was partly why he'd done it.

To be honest, Scott had been a little surprised when his cell rang a little after one a.m. with Logan's voice on the other end telling him he and Rogue would meet him in Westchester in about a week before he hung up without so much as a goodbye. Scott, in turn, hadn't wasted any time in informing Charles and Jean that their pick-up had been successful, although the two mutants in question had decided to drive in rather than return with them in the Blackbird. Fine with him. That was better anyway. He knew he'd need the time to work on Jean.

He knew she wanted to help Rogue and Logan just as much as the rest of them did, but he also knew the second he set eyes on them in that motel in Yellowknife that Jean was going to need some working on if Logan and Rogue were ever going to be comfortable at the school. She might have seen a lot of things in her time as a doctor, but she'd come from an upper-middle class family in suburbia. She'd never _not_ had a home. She'd never experienced the harsh realities of life on the road the way he had. The way Logan and Rogue had. And for as much as he loved her and knew that she genuinely wanted to help people, she could be a little hypocritical at times.

While he knew Logan and Rogue probably expected to take a little heat from the kids for their unusual relationship, he was aware if they felt any of the staff was too disapproving, they'd bail. No doubt about it. God knows, he certainly would if he was in their shoes, and he wanted to make sure that didn't happen here. To be perfectly honest, Scott wasn't all that concerned about Logan. He didn't like him much, understood where he was coming from maybe, but Logan was definitely not high up on Scott's 'favorite people' list. It was Rogue he really wanted to help and no matter how much it irked him, he knew he needed to work Logan's side of the fence to do that. He also saw a lot of himself in Rogue and he wanted to do for her what Charles had done for him. Funny how life has a tendency to repeat itself like that. Swallowing a smile, he hoped Rogue wouldn't give him as much trouble as he'd given Charles.

Scott took a sip from his coffee and grimaced, adding a spoonful of sugar while he waited for Jean to start in on him. Arguing with a telepath was incredibly frustrating. Even though he knew she'd never read his thoughts without his consent, he always felt like she knew what he was going to say before he said it. On the other hand, he also knew he frustrated the crap out of her because while she argued emotionally, he argued logically. Actually, with Jean he thought of it as arguing tactically. Something he was incredibly good at, thank God. He hid a smirk behind his coffee cup as he watched her pluck at the cuffs of her lab coat. She only did that when she was really worked up about something and he took another bracing sip of coffee as he watched her take a deep breath.

Jean gave him an incredulous look. "Are you serious? Of course I'm not kidding." She'd also poured herself a cup of coffee, but it sat untouched beside her on the kitchen counter as she narrowed her eyes at him, trying to suss him out a bit. It wasn't going to work, of course. He had the best poker face at the school, and not just because his eyes were hidden. "He was sharing a room with her, Scott."

"So?" He shrugged, wanting to keep things as non-confrontational as possible. In an argument with Jean, coming out of the gate swinging was the fastest way to insure nothing would be resolved. Much to her displeasure and his delight, her red hair did happen to be indicative of a very fiery temper-which could be amusing and even arousing at other times. Right now, however, it was just a pain in his ass and an obstacle he needed to overcome to make sure Jean's issues with Logan and Rogue's relationship wouldn't drive them away before they were comfortable enough to even think about accepting Charles' help.

"So?" Jean's eyes widened in disbelief. "So, he's sharing a bed with her too, that's what." Her brows drew together as she stared at him intently. "I know you. You can't possibly tell me you have no problems with that."

Scott looked up from his coffee, but said nothing.

"She's seventeen."

"And?" He was waiting for her to just go ahead and get it all out at once before he started in with the logic. In his experience, that was the easiest way to diffuse Jean when she had her back up about something.

"And? Good grief, Scott. She's the same age as Kitty and Jubilee." She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him through her glasses, not quite understanding why her normally by-the-book fiancé was being so impossible about this. "They're your _students_. They're in high school. They watch cartoons. Jubilee still sleeps with a teddy bear, for God's sake. Can you sit there and tell me you wouldn't have a problem if you caught one of them in bed with a man? Can you honestly tell me that finding Logan and Rogue together in that run-down motel in Yellowknife didn't give you pause?"

Scott took a sip of his coffee, long since having decided on the best plan of attack: surprise first to shake her up, to really get through to her, then calm logic to drive his point home. "She was legal at fourteen in Canada, Jean." Calm, controlled words. No edge. No sarcasm. Just straight delivery of fact.

Her eyes widened. "That's disgusting." And she would have asked how on earth he knew that particular legality, except that she was talking with Scott. He always covered all his bases, researched everything to the Nth degree. "And indecent," she added for good measure. Who was capable of making that kind of decision at fourteen?

"Is it?" There was an edge to his voice now even though he tried to control it. That comment had hit a little close to home. "I was fourteen my first time." He knew she knew that. He'd told her so himself. "I didn't think it was disgusting or indecent." Hell, if he'd has his way, he'd have fucked himself blind that first night, and he imagined most guys felt the same way. All his friends certainly had. He'd made a sad showing his very first time, lasting little more than a minute, but the subsequent three times had been pretty damn good. And if the girl in question hadn't been too sore, he'd have kept going. "In fact, I remember it rather fondly."

Jean had forgotten all about that. Well, she remembered cuddling up with him in front of the fire and telling their 'first times' stories to each other over a nice bottle of rich hearty red, but somehow it just didn't seem the same. That had felt like she was getting to know the intimate side of a man who rarely shared the private parts of himself with anyone. In truth, she'd been far more interested in the juicy details than his age. It hadn't seemed wrong then, just intimate. "That's different," she insisted stubbornly.

His eyebrows rose above his glasses. "Why?" He set his coffee down. "What makes it different? Because I'm a guy? Because you know me? Because the girl was in her twenties and not frozen at some indeterminable age by a healing factor?" He knew he shouldn't have added that last one, but her comment about it being 'disgusting' had pissed him off a little. Jean's eyes crackled green fire at him and he knew he'd swung a little too hard. _Shit_. It wasn't helping Rogue's cause any to push Jean like that just because he'd taken something she said personally.

Jean rolled her eyes in exasperation. He was just _not_ getting it. "You know damn well it's different. If I remember correctly, you were almost fifteen, the girl was barely twenty one... and yes, it is different both because you're a guy and because you're the guy I love even though you're being such an incredible ASS about this whole thing!"

They both looked at each other and laughed. Now that they'd both blown off a little of their respective steam, maybe they could resolve things a little and he'd get to have his nap after all.

"Look, Jean, I'm not saying that all experiences at that age are good. I was lucky." Four times lucky, but that was neither here nor there. "I know kids get taken advantage of all the time." He'd lived on the streets. He'd seen that kind of ugly dynamic up close and personal in a way Jean never had and, thankfully, never would. "All I'm saying is that's not what I saw in Yellowknife."

Jean reached for her coffee and made a face as she took a sip. She added some milk and turned back around to face Scott. "I know your perspective is different, Scott, and that sometimes you think I'm naïve or hypocritical." She sighed. "But my points are valid. This girl, Rogue, she's barely seventeen. From what we've been able to uncover, she's almost totally dependent on a man who not only has no memory of who or what he is, but who also fights for a living." Her lips twitched. "And I swear to God, Scott, if you tell me that's not illegal in Canada, I'll smack you."

Scott chuckled, but said nothing. The kind of fighting Logan did was just as illegal in Canada as it was in the States.

"Even if she wasn't dependent on him, his propensity for violence is shocking. The potential for an abusive relationship is there," she insisted, "and she is only seventeen, the same age as the students you lecture in front of every day. Can you honestly tell me you'd be ok taking someone like that to bed?"

Scott grimaced. His tastes ran the other direction, they always had. Right from the very beginning he'd preferred older women. By the same token, the very fact that he chose to be with older women proved his point in a fashion. He was usually the younger party and none of his relationships had been abusive. Of course, he realized gender differences played a part in that, but in theory it was the same thing-and another reason he felt a kinship with Rogue. She wasn't the only one who'd taken some heat for choosing an older partner.

Scott's grimace faded to a smirk as his eyes slid over Jean. "You know damn well I'd never do anything of the sort, even if I wasn't their teacher." His smirk became less teasing and more sexual. "I like my women sophisticated enough to be able to hold an intelligent conversation." Behind his ruby shades, his eyes glittered as he whispered across their mental link. _{And sophisticated enough to give me whatever I might want in bed without playing the shy, simpering maiden.}_

Jean felt desire coil low in her belly at his words. What he said was true. Scott was highly intelligent and preferred his women to be able to match him in conversation. He was also incredibly confident and adventurous in bed. He made it a point to choose women who could keep up with him there as well. Scott was a man who liked living on the edge and he wanted the women in his life to willingly join him there. He could talk just about anyone into joining him there if he wanted to, that was a part of what made him a good leader, but for Scott, the man? If he had to talk a woman into anything, then she wasn't the right woman for him. He'd always liked his women independent, strong, and confident in their own right.

Jean smiled at him and gave him a little telekinetic nudge-the equivalent of a hand on his chest, playfully pushing him against the back of the chair. _{We're not done talking about Rogue, so quit distracting me with thoughts of you naked in our bed, flyboy.}_ Her eyes flashed playfully. _{Or I'll make you sorry.}_ He might have said he was tired and wanted a nap, but she knew full well what he wanted before the nap. He was twenty-six for God's sake. He might be intelligent and romantic and sweet, but he also fucked like an animal and had a sex drive to match. Being in love with a younger man definitely had its perks.

As he caught the tail end of Jean's thoughts, Scott's mouth hung open for half a second before it turned up into a shameless grin and he gave her a mock growl. _{An animal? Christ, Jean.}_

His words might have been chiding, but she could feel a decidedly male pleasure in her words rolling off him in waves.

Scott grinned wider at her. "And you realize that last thought of yours pretty much proved my point."

Her grin matched his. "Does that mean I'm your Logan?" She teased.

He scowled. "That's not funny."

Jean sighed. "I know. They have a different dynamic than we do. That's why I'm worried," she paused. "And she is only seventeen, Scott."

Scott took another sip from his cooling coffee, and got ready to pull out the big guns. He sat back lazily in the chair and toyed with his cup. He didn't need to look at her to drive this point home. "Remind me again how old you were the first time."

Of course, he didn't need a reminder nor was he expecting her to give him one. Scott had mind like a steel trap. He knew full well Jean had lost her virginity at seventeen to a boy who was also seventeen and a virgin. While she remembered the event fondly, the flutterpated feelings, the sweaty palms, the nervous excitement of it all... she'd also confided that the actual sex hadn't been all that good. The boy, Robby, had been hesitant to hurt her, but also clumsy with inexperience and he had caused her some pain. Once inside, things had happened much the same way they had his first time. The boy had lasted maybe a minute. Unlike the girl he'd been with, Jean had been too sore to continue after that. She hadn't had an orgasm and the boy had been too unskilled to give her one by other means afterwards or to soothe the ache he'd caused in his haste to get inside her.

After all was said and done, they had fallen asleep together in her bed, and that's what Jean remembered as being the best part. Of course, with the resiliency of teenagers being what it is, they'd waited a few days and tried again. She admitted the sex had gotten better and better as they worked at it until they broke up four months later, but Jean's first experience with sex was hardly the stuff of fantasies. Scott couldn't help but wonder if she'd chosen someone older, someone with more experience, if she might have enjoyed it more.

Scott thought again of the similarities between himself and Rogue. Well, they might be similar, but he had absolutely no illusions about Logan. He might not like the man personally, but he obviously knew what to do with a woman and if Rogue's mutation had managed to keep her a virgin until she met Logan-well, he knew whatever happened between her and Logan would be a world away from what Jean's first time had been like. And he was glad. He might be a stickler about some things, but he was not a prude.

Scott wondered again if Jean's less than stellar experience the first time around had anything to do with her insistence that seventeen was too young. She'd told him once she wished he'd been her first. While he appreciated the sentiment, Scott was glad she hadn't waited. She'd been no shy, simpering virgin with him. Their first time had peeled the paint from the walls and he greatly appreciated both her sophistication and her confidence in bed. While he had the necessary patience and experience to make a virgin's first time good, he had no desire to play the role of teacher in bed. If anything, he'd rather play the role of student.

There were things in his life that required he reign himself in, to be a "by-the-book" kind of man-his job, his mutation. There were other things too, but sex was not one of them. He didn't want to reign himself in during sex any more than he did when he pressed that red button on his bike or when he screamed across the sky at Mach 2 with his hair on fire and his hand on the throttle.

He looked at Jean expectantly when she didn't answer him. "You going to tell me your situation was different too?" He knew he'd trumped her. She couldn't argue with that.

His logical arguments frustrated her. He was boxing her in and her temper flared. "I was just a stupid kid! I should have waited-"

"Oh, so it was ok for you to make that choice, even if now you feel it was a mistake, but it's not ok for Rogue to have that same choice? That's not fair." He pushed his coffee cup across the table and finally lifted his head, watching her eyes through his ruby shades. "People have to be allowed to make their own choices and live with their own consequences, Jean. That's how they learn." He smiled at her gently to blunt his words. "You can't protect everyone, sweetheart, no matter how much you want to." He didn't add 'you can't live their lives for them or expect them to live their lives according to your standards either.' While all that was true, he'd already won this argument. There was no need to lord it over her. Especially not if he wanted that nap.

"I still don't like it," she huffed.

Scott sighed. "You don't have to like it, Jean, but we can't help them if they're not here to help. If you ride them too hard, they're going to bail. I would."

"I wouldn't do that."

Scott got up and crossed the room, taking her hands in his larger ones and giving them a gentle squeeze. "Maybe not intentionally."

"I'm a doctor, Scott. I want to help them. You are entitled to your opinions; I'm entitled to mine. If Rogue needs help, I want to give it to her regardless of what you and Logan have to say about it."

"I know you do, sweetheart." He kissed her fingers. "That's one of the reasons I love you." He touched her hair gently. "But Rogue isn't you, Jean. She's not the naïve girl you were at seventeen and God knows, Logan isn't Robby."

Jean winced. "He's too old for her, Scott. It's just... icky. What man wants a little girl in his bed?"

"Careful, sweetheart. Let's not forget you knew me when I was seventeen." His lips twitched with the beginnings of a smirk.

Looking up at him now, it was hard to remember he was the younger of the two of them. He seemed so much larger and heavier than she was, so much more powerful. "Let's also not forget I knew you four years before we slept together."

He grinned smugly. "But we both know you wanted me at seventeen." He pulled her closer and whispered in her ear. "I sure as hell wanted you." He licked her neck. "You made me crazy." Scott chuckled against her throat. _{Christ, Jean, I think I was hard that entire year. I couldn't keep my hands off myself imagining your face, your body, your mind...}_ He chuckled again, lower this time, huskier. _{I had you a million times in my imagination before I ever even touched you.}_

This time, it was Jean who grinned. "I know." She tapped her temple. "I heard you." A look of surprise flashed across his features and she laughed. "You might have been cocky as hell back then, flyboy, but your shielding stunk."

He shook his head in amusement. "You never told me that." He used the weight of his body to press her back against the counter and a very naughty smile turned up the corners of his sensual mouth as another thought occurred to him. _{Did you listen in, sweetheart? Did you lay in bed at night and touch yourself while I imagined you under me and over me and dreamed about the taste and feel of your body under my mouth and hands?}_ Jean blushed. Jean never blushed. Scott grinned and kept going. _{Did you come with me? Cry out my name when I was groaning yours?}_

She slid her finger in the small metal ring attached to the zipper at the neck of his uniform and gave it a little jerk. "Alright, alright already. You've made your point." Yes, she a woman of twenty-seven had lusted after a boy of seventeen. Not only that, but she'd used her 'gift' to listen when he was projecting-which was the reason for her blush. Sex didn't embarrass her, but being caught using her 'gifts' inappropriately sure as hell did. Especially since in this case, she wasn't at all sorry for it.

Scott smiled down at her. "My point?" He snorted. "I'm done making that particular point, Jean. This is not Cyclops proving a point. This is me trying to get you upstairs for a shower and that _nap_." He grinned wolfishly. "Put The Doctor away for a little while, sweetheart. Cyclops is officially off duty until the briefing." She had a whole week to hash it out with him before Logan and Rogue arrived. He was done talking about it for a while.

Jean grinned and checked her watch. "Hmm... free and clear for a whole four hours and eleven minutes." Her eyes flashed and she tugged again at the ring just under his chin. "Doesn't leave much time for actual napping..."

A positively scorching smile lit up his entire face. "Yeah, well, I'm young." His eyebrows waggled at her above his glasses. "You know, still able to keep going strong even with minimal sleep." His cocky smile got naughtier. "Just like a Timex, sweetheart, takes a licking and keeps on ticking."

Jean's grin matched his as she pulled him from the kitchen. "We'll see, flyboy. We'll see."

 

* * *

 

**Author's Notes:** Okay, confession time. I love me some SharpScott. He's no (Feral!)Logan, but he and Jean tend to get the short end of the stick in a lot of W/R stories (I am so guilty!) so I like to give them their own moment in the sun now and again, especially when their moments are connected to the larger W/R story I want to tell. (Of course, I have some serious BadJean issues... but at least I try, right?!) Heh. Second confession: This is where the bunny stopped hopping. I realize this story probably does need at least one more chapter where we have Logan and Marie in Westchester having to deal with the fallout from the (unorthodox) choices they made, but the truth is I'm not really sure what I want to say about that just yet. I'm open to suggestions! lol You never know what might spark a freaky bunny writing jag. I will say this, however: I have several more finished stories to post and I'm currently eight chapters deep in a new story, so y'all will have that in the meantime. I'm not going to mark this story finished just yet, but be aware it will likely be a while before we find out what happens.

Ummm... when I know, so will you. ;)


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